Country:
District:
Access: from Annemasse (Geneva), take the Blanche motorway, exit 19 (Cluses). Follow signs for Taninges, then Samoëns and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval. In Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, turn right and cross the Giffre river towards Le Lignon; drive through Maison Neuve and Salvagny, cross the Pont de Sales bridge and follow the winding road uphill. You will pass Les Fardelay again and reach Le Lignon, where you can park.
(S/E) From the restaurant, go straight up and follow "Refuge de Sales (Chalets de Sales)" on theGR®5. The track climbs gently through a forest of spruce trees. You will gradually ascend and reach the Pleureuse and Sauffaz waterfalls at 1,450 metres.
(1) Continue climbing; we continue straight ahead on theGR®96. After a few hairpin bends in a rocky chaos, the terrain levels out and you reach Le Clos. Join a small footbridge that crosses the Sales torrent.
(2) Cross it and continue upstream, following the torrent! You will rejoin the traditional route shortly afterwards.
(3) The trail then climbs gradually up the left bank of the Sales; you will soon see the superb Cascade de Sales waterfall. You will reach the bottom of the cirque and, via a path carved into the rock, cross the Pas de Sales (there are guardrails with chains to secure the path, but be careful, as the ground can be very slippery and the cliff is steep).
(4) Join the Gorges de Sales. You will reach a new "valley" with the Cascade de Traînant and its successive waterfalls (resurgence) in view. Continue along the left bank of the Sales torrent, gaining height until you get closer to the waterfall. The trail then turns right before climbing more steeply in switchbacks; after a superb cairn, you reach a flat area where you can admire the Upper Traînant Waterfalls.
(5) The trail climbs a little more and after a final resurgent waterfall, you follow the bed of the dry torrent (in fact, the water becomes underground). The trail becomes less rocky and continues on flat ground; you pass the small Chapelle de Sales chapel before reaching the Refuge de Sales at 1,886 metres.
(6) From the refuge, head towards the Chalets de Sales, which you pass to reach a rocky area with a large basin (carved out of the rock in 1869). You begin the crossing of the "Grand Pré"; there are a few pools with newts. As for the view: on the left are the Rochers des Fiz (Tête à l'Âne, Pointe d'Anterne, Pointe d'Ayères, Le Marteau...); in front of you, from left to right, are La Brèche, Le Passage and La Pointe du Dérochoir; on the right is La Barme Froide.
(7) The trail splits in two: take the right fork. The path climbs gently towards the Passage du Dérochoir (there is a trail on the right that leads to the Col de la Portette and the Pointe de Platé – continuation ofthe GR®96). You come out into a vast valley, the end of this hike.
(8) Return via the same route (S/E).
Visorando member
Difficult 
Very difficult 
